NBC Might Have Paid David Gregory $4 Million to Go Away

On Thursday, after months of rumors that NBC News was looking to replace Meet the Press’s David Gregory with someone who people might want to watch, the network finally announced that Chuck Todd would be taking over the Sunday talk show. Gregory wasn’t even allowed to say good-bye on-air, reportedly because NBC was worried that he would create “an Ann Curry situation.” (Curry herself reached out to Gregory with an inspiring Dalai Lama quotation on Friday.) Instead, Andrea Mitchell, who is keeping Todd’s seat warm until he starts on September 7, took less than two minutes out of today’s Meet the Press to “reflect” on Gregory’s six years as itshost.

“As David leaves NBC News for his next adventure, I will miss him as a daily colleague,” said Mitchell after a brief clip show of his work. “But I know he will remain a friend.” But even if Gregory eggs the houses of everyone at NBC before never speaking to any of them ever again, the public probably won’t hear about it. The New York Post’s “Page Six” claims that the network paid Gregory $4 million to make a quiet exit: “A source said Gregory’s contract extended into next year, so NBC had to pay him for the rest of the term, plus an extra fee to ensure his silence. In return, he was asked to sign a nondisparagementclause.”

Though the Post’s sources say that Gregory is understandably “angry and humiliated” by his dismissal, his arrangement with NBC — or maybe just his pride — seems to be working. On Thursday, he tweeted about how “humbled and grateful” he was for his experience at the network and expressed “great respect” for his co-workers there. And this morning, there wasthis: